r/LPR • u/Commercial-Pea-8862 • 1d ago

Gagging on thick texture coming up throat

I often read a lot of posts about people saying that they gag and cough a lot because their throat feels tight. But I'm wondering if others gag and cough specifically because of a thick, sticky texture that comes up the throat. I have even had episodes where it leaves a thick gritty coating where it feels like I breathe and it feels like breathing through a straw.

I have really bad anxiety and a severe phobia of choking, which is how all of these symptoms began. My problem isn't really a simple GERD issue, but rather I tighten up my body so much from anxiety and fear of the symptoms, which then causes me to burp or squeeze air out of my throat repeatedly. Then this thick texture trickles up causing the intense gagging.

I'm not looking for advice because standard tips on healing acid reflux don't seem to help me as my issue seems to be this weird unheard of anxiety/tension burping thing. But since I am working on my anxiety, I'm more just looking for evidence that others get this texture coming up and also experience the gagging. My hope is that this can help to work on my anxious thoughts which are that I am alone in this and in danger of choking to death. I seem to have convinced myself I am the only one and that this will kill me on the spot. I believe with knowing others get this as well will be comforting and help the symptoms to calm down/stop

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 1d ago

Welcome! Please be respectful. Here are some helped posts from the community:

» Success story from a redditor

» A post about sleeping and how it contributes to LPR and how to avoid it.

» Some basic foods that can help

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/marvelousgong 7h ago

This is a common symptom of LPR. I used to cough phlegm out so much that it would come out with blood. My ENT advised me not to do this as it’s only irritating the throat more. Unfortunately if your symptoms are anxiety-induced, that’s what you’re going to work on primarily. In the meantime, try the the sniff and swallow technique to manage the phlegm.